A 10-W High-Power Amplifier Using Input Nonlinearity for <i>K</i>-Band Satcom Applications

Yi, Chupeng; Lu, Yang; Zhao, Ziyue; Wang, Yuchen; Zhou, Jiuding; Zhao, Bingxuan; Li, Peixian; Ma, Xiaohua; Hao, Yue

doi:10.1109/lmwc.2022.3156912

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In China, research in this field is also gradually emerging, although the PAs developed using domestic gallium nitride (GaN) chips currently manifest low efficiency, low linearity, significant power drops, and poor reliability under continuous-wave high and low temperature conditions. Meanwhile, all pertinent indices evince more than 10% difference, and this cannot meet the demand associated with high-power amplifiers for high-performance satellite communication [41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. In the future, the requirements of RF PAs will continue to increase, as star technology further advances.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catalyzing satellite communication: A 20W Ku-Band RF front-end power amplifier design and deployment

Chen,

Wang,

Zhang

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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This paper presents a groundbreaking Ku-band 20W RF front-end power amplifier (PA), designed to address numerous challenges encountered by satellite communication systems, including those pertaining to stability, linearity, cost, and size. The manuscript commences with an exhaustive discussion of system design and operational principles, emphasizing the intricacies of low-noise amplification, and incorporating key considerations such as noise factors, stability analysis, gain, and gain flatness. Subsequently, an in-depth study is conducted on various components of the RF chain, including the pre-amplification module, driver-amplification module, and final-stage amplification module. The holistic design extends to the inclusion of the display and control unit, featuring the power-control module, monitoring module, and overall layout design of the PA. It is meticulously tailored to meet the specific demands of satellite communication. Following this, a thorough exploration of electromagnetic simulation and measurement results ensues, providing validation for the precision and reliability of the proposed design. Finally, the feasibility of that design is substantiated through systematic system design, prototype production, and exhaustive experimental testing. It is noteworthy that, in the space-simulation environmental test, emphasis is placed on the excellent performance of the Star Ku-band PA within the 13.75GHz to 14.5GHz frequency range. Detailed power scan measurements reveal a P1dB of 43dBm, maintaining output power flatness < ± 0.5dBm across the entire frequency and temperature spectrum. Third-order intermodulation scan measurements indicate a third-order intermodulation of ≤ -23dBc. Detailed results of power monitoring demonstrate a range from +18dBm to +54dBm. Scans of spurious suppression and harmonic suppression, meanwhile, show that the PA evinces spurious suppression ≤ -65dBc and harmonic suppression ≤ -60dBc. Rigorous phase-scan measurements exhibit a phase-shift adjustment range of 0° to 360°, with a step of 5.625°, and a phase-shift accuracy of 0.5dB. Detailed data from gain-scan measurements show a gain-adjustment range of 0dB to 30dB, with a gain flatness of ± 0.5dB. Attenuation error is ≤ 1%. These test parameters perfectly align with the practical application requirements of the technical specifications. When compared to existing Ku-band PAs, our design reflects a deeper consideration of specific requirements in satellite communication, ensuring its outstanding performance and uniqueness. This PA features good stability, high linearity, low cost, and compact modularity, ensuring continuous and stable power output. These features position the proposed system as a leader within the market. Successful orbital deployment not only validates its operational stability; it also makes a significant contribution to the advancement of China’s satellite PA technology, generating positive socio-economic benefits.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Catalyzing satellite communication: A 20W Ku-Band RF front-end power amplifier design and deployment

Chen,

Wang,

Zhang

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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“…Restricted by factors such as satellite reception sensitivity, limited battery capacity of wireless terminals, and the trend of terminal miniaturization, PA chips of satellite communication terminals are required to have high transmission power, high energy conversion efficiency, and high integration level [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. In terms of transmission power, many scholars have made different design attempts, and works [7][8][9] have achieved relatively outstanding output power within their respective designed frequency bands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, modern satellite communication systems not only require a high output power of the terminal PA chip but also its efficiency to reduce power consumption and increase the service life of battery-powered wireless terminals. Some works have ensured the output power of their respective PA chips while also taking into account the efficiency [10][11][12]. For example, in [10], an elliptical filter structure is used based on the GaN process to design the output matching network of the PA chip, achieving a Psat of 41.1-44.1 dBm and a PAE of 19-40% in the 6-18 GHz frequency band.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, in [10], an elliptical filter structure is used based on the GaN process to design the output matching network of the PA chip, achieving a Psat of 41.1-44.1 dBm and a PAE of 19-40% in the 6-18 GHz frequency band. Authors in [11] developed a PA chip with high power and efficiency, which has an average output power of 42 dBm and a PAE of 41% in 17-20.5 GHz. Nevertheless, there is also a growing demand for the miniaturization of PA chips in modern satellite communication terminals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Design of Power Amplifiers for BDS-3 Terminal Based on InGaP/GaAs HBT MMIC and LGA Technology

Li,

Huang,

Zhang

et al. 2023

Micromachines

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With the development and popularization of the Beidou-3 navigation satellite system (BDS-3), to ensure its unique short message function, it is necessary to integrate a radio frequency (RF) transmitting circuit with high performance in the BDS-3 terminal. As the key device in an RF transmitting circuit, the RF power amplifier (PA) largely determines the comprehensive performance of the circuit with its transmission power, efficiency, linearity, and integration. Therefore, in this paper, an L-band highly integrated PA chip compatible with 3 W and 5 W output power is designed in InGaP/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology combined with temperature-insensitive adaptive bias technology, class-F harmonic suppression technology, analog pre-distortion technology, temperature-insensitive adaptive power detection technology, and land grid array (LGA) packaging technology. Additionally, three auxiliary platforms are proposed, dedicated to the simulation and optimization of the same type of PA designs. The simulation results show that at the supply voltage of 5 V and 3.5 V, the linear gain of the PA chip reaches 39.4 dB and 38.7 dB, respectively; the output power at 1 dB compression point (P1dB) reaches 37.5 dBm and 35.1 dBm, respectively; the saturated output power (Psat) reaches 38.2 dBm and 36.2 dBm, respectively; the power added efficiency (PAE) reaches 51.7% and 48.2%, respectively; and the higher harmonic suppression ratios are less than −62 dBc and −65 dBc, respectively. The size of the PA chip is only 6 × 4 × 1 mm3. The results also show that the PA chip has high gain, high efficiency, and high linearity under both output power conditions, which has obvious advantages over similar PA chip designs and can meet the short message function of the BDS-3 terminal in various application scenarios.

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A novel method to determine bias-dependent source and drain parasitic series resistances in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Jiang,

Fu,

Liu

et al. 2024

Solid-State Electronics

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A 10-W High-Power Amplifier Using Input Nonlinearity for K-Band Satcom Applications

Cited by 8 publications

References 22 publications

Catalyzing satellite communication: A 20W Ku-Band RF front-end power amplifier design and deployment

Catalyzing satellite communication: A 20W Ku-Band RF front-end power amplifier design and deployment

Design of Power Amplifiers for BDS-3 Terminal Based on InGaP/GaAs HBT MMIC and LGA Technology

A novel method to determine bias-dependent source and drain parasitic series resistances in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

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